— By Duncan Green

6/4/25

White River Junction, VT—When Anna Guenther and Jesse Pollard met through their volunteer work with the Hartford Energy Commission in 2021, they never expected to become business partners. As the work-related acquaintances became friends, the two bonded over their shared love of playing pool and spending Friday evenings at the Filling Station, a dive bar in downtown White River Junction.

In February, Guenther learned the bar was for sale, and quickly called up Pollard in hopes that he’d consider buying their favorite spot together. With little hesitation, he agreed. “We knew someone was going to snatch it up,” Pollard said. “There’s no way this is still going to be around in a month.”

For the new owners, buying the bar—which they did in April for $385,000—was more about preserving a historic, niche community they’d discovered together than wanting to run a business. Guenther feared the building, which first opened in 1930 and has served as a bar ever since, would be torn down and redeveloped unless someone like herself and Pollard stepped up.

Anna Guenther has been putting in long hours getting The Filling Station ready to reopen. Photos by Duncan Green.

Since purchasing the space, the owners have worked through a series of renovation projects, including removing and reconstructing the entire roof, putting in a new ceiling over half of the space, and replacing and reworking much of the building’s plumbing. “Because it was last sold in 1995, there are 30 years worth of Vermont restaurant, bar occupancy, fire and safety hazard compliance improvements and repairs to catch up on,” Guenther said.

After shutting the space down in April to begin construction, Pollard and Guenther have relied on various community members for the extensive handiwork. By Tuesday midday, the ceiling was completed, with plumbing work finished up the same evening.

Guenther said watering hole regulars have been stopping by to ask about the seemingly intensive construction that has gone on for roughly six weeks. While the work has been laborious, the new owners want to maintain the dive bar energy that has beckoned visitors for decades. “I hope people can come back in and see we've cleaned it up, we've fixed some things, but we haven't really changed its bones or its vibe,” she said.

With much of the physically intensive work now done, Guenther said the watering hole is waiting on a variety of inspections and certifications to be completed. She expressed hope that the bar would pass its health and kitchen safety inspections later this week, which it needs to do before it can earn its liquor license.

Guenther and Pollard’s long Post-It to-do list.

If the “wheels of the bureaucracy” turn quickly, Guenther thinks there is a chance the bar could open Friday, but acknowledged that may be optimistic. Barring surprises, she hopes to open its doors next week.

Other than the owners, there may be no one more excited for opening day than Jakob Breitbach, an international touring musician and Hartford resident. When Breitbach moved to the Upper Valley in 2016 from a vibrant music community in Seattle, he felt isolated and missed his public places to bond with others over tunes and a beer. He first walked into the bar a few months later, as he was promoting a show his band was doing in town.

After visiting a few more times, Breitbach decided he wanted to have a pool and acoustic jam session in the space. The initial jam turned into a weekly gathering, and until its closing for renovations, brought the bar to near capacity on Wednesday nights as musicians armed with banjos, fiddles, guitars and basses gathered to play bluegrass, country, or whatever attendees request.

Image from a Filling Station video about the Wednesday Night Jam. Full video here.

With the bar space unavailable, weekly jams have moved to the Hotel Coolidge. But Breitbach, Guenther, and Pollard have discussed expanding the watering hole’s programming, teasing the ideas of live band karaoke, jazz performances and continued jams. As a neighbor to Northern Stage, the Center for Cartoon Studies, and various other arts organizations downtown, Guenther noted the bar offers a central space for the area’s diverse community.

“I like to call it a neighborhood bar,” Guenther said. “You could be at the Hotel Coolidge for one night, just waiting out a train, maybe a visiting artist—you're a neighbor for that night.” Both owners plan eventually to convert the bar’s small concrete lot out back into a small beer garden, which will provide more seats and a new venue for musicians to perform.

Along with expanded programming, Guenther and Pollard are shifting the bar's hours. They plan to open the doors by 11 a.m. and close around 10 on weeknights. Weekend festivities will carry on later. With the added daytime hours, Guenther said the bar will offer coffee, iced tea, and light snacks and finger food. They hope earlier opening will make the space more accessible to community members who need a space to have a bite to eat and do some laptop work during the week.

Above all, Guenther and Pollard, who hail from Georgia and Florida respectively, hope to maintain the historic bar that reminds them of home. Guenther in particular noted the centrality of dive bars to the local community in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia. She sees the Filling Station as a similar hub.

Breitbach seconded this, noting there are few alternatives in the region.